Celine has abandoned dates of her Asia stint, meant to start on November 11 in Nagoya, Japan. She was scheduled to start a Las Vegas residency on Friday at the city's Caesars Palace, but she has postponed that also.

"I want to devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband's healing, and to do so, it's important for me to dedicate this time to him and to our children," she explained. "I also want to apologise to all my fans everywhere, for inconveniencing them, and I thank them so much for their love and support."

This is René's second battle with cancer after previously being treated in 1999.